February 21, 2011

Recipe for restaurant-style pasta e fagioli

I've slurped pasta e fagioli in restaurants from Italy to Boston's most Italian neighborhood, the North End (where it is called, and I kid you not, pasta fazool), but I've never eaten at an Olive Garden restaurant. So, the first time I tasted their recipe for the classic bean-and-pasta soup was a couple of weeks ago, when Theresa brought her version of it to our Soup Swap. The ratio of beans and pasta to liquid (in this case, mostly spaghetti sauce) bears no resemblance to the real thing, and the ground beef comes as a surprise, but there's no denying that this red-sauce-in-a-bowl is a great soup. It's not really pasta e fagioli -- except that it contain pasta and beans -- but I had seconds and loved every spoonful. Kids will find this soup hard to resist, too.

Directions

In a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot, heat the oil and sauté beef until it starts to brown. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot. Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper, parsley, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce, and pasta. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until celery and carrots are tender, about 35-40 minutes.

Serve hot, or let cool completely and pack in containers for the freezer.

Comments

We called it pasta fazool down in the Bronx too. But ours was never really a soup - more like a stew. There's an Olive Garden a few blocks from my house in FL and I've had this dish many times. While not authentic, it is quite good.